Tackling Generation in the

Classrooms of Today!
Dr. Dheeraj Mehrotra*

Google, Google, Google, ours is but an age of Googling.

"Teachers are no longer the fountain of knowledge; the
internet is. The hunt of knowledge, information,
identification and above all validation has been the choice of
masses world over. What is mounting of interest towards
negativity is the very assembly of the traits for the students
today who are guarded of their own intelligence through this
time machine of information giving a blow to their abilities,
and the say of the teachers. The parents say “Learning by
Heart is useless for Google Generation”. The researchers
quote that the brains of today's youngsters work differently
to their parents', and that multi tasking with digital devices,
such as using the internet while listening to their MP3
players, can help them to develop critical thinking skills.
The conduct of the classroom scenario today has been into
hot seat with the modulation of classroom excellence
through the personal experiences of the teachers who are
no longer the fountain of knowledge but the Internet is ! ! !
What is of demand is the fact that one needs to be proactive
towards being a learner first than a teacher in the classroom
to be of interest to the pupils publicly. The teachers need to
tell them the advanced search function rather than just
googling. The web 2.0 tools need to explore for better as a
practice than just a familiar IT vocabulary including blogs
for writing, podcasts for recorded audio and wiki towards
write and edit of data available further.
The current generation of kindergartners to 12th graders
those born from 1991 to 2004 has no memory of a time
before Google, says Sara Scribner, a researcher. But
although these students are far more tech savvy than their
parents and are perpetually connected to the Internet, they
know a lot less than they think. In a time when information
literacy is increasingly crucial to life and work, not teaching
kids how to search for information is like sending them out
into the world without knowing how to read. The teachers
need to dwell to this scenario with pace and tactfulness in
order to be of time and standards towards 21 st century
learning environments. We need professionals to advocate
for teaching information literacy from an early age. As the
students are made to learn through plugging is the way to
listen the song. Much of the time they opt for Google, which
is like being tossed into the ocean without a paddle. An
info-literate student can find the right bit of information
amid the sea of irrelevance and misinformation but this is
not common all the time. Above all, closing libraries for the
Google generation, which in any case is happening now in
our country, a big way, could be disastrous. In a time when
information literacy is increasingly crucial to life and work,
not teaching kids how to search for information is like
sending them out into the world without knowing how to
read.

GG the Google Generation is bound to betray the YOUTH of

today. As out of conclusion, for today's youngsters, tedious
rote learning is pointless because such basic facts are only
a mouse click away via Google, Wikipedia and online
libraries, a better approach would be to teach children to
think creatively so they could learn to interpret and apply
the knowledge available online.

If your kids are like mine, they are already comfortable

using Google Apps in the elementary, middle, high school
and college levels, just as they have become accustomed to
doing Google searches for their homework assignments.
Where is the learning here. The teacher’s role is that of a
facilitator or just a computer operator in the classroom but
of any information giver. The touch of the key is to make
them perfect of knowledge and the desired degree, where is
the role of the teachers float here. Moreover, the fact tends
to our intelligence with the preface that we need to prepare
our students to be effective 21st century citizens actively.

*Author, Trainer, Educator based at New Delhi.

http://dheerajmehrotra.tripod.com